The Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists/BFUU endorsed The Apartheid Free  Communities/AFC network on November 10, 2024 to become a member of this coalition of communities who pledge to work together to end Israeli apartheid.

• This network formed in 2022 with the participation in 2023 of the Unitarian Universalists For Justice in the MidEast/UUJME  following the emerging consensus among the international human rights community that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people amounts to the crime of apartheid.
• Originally created by faith groups in North America, the network currently includes close to 500 congregations, faith communities, solidarity organizations, non-profits, campus groups, businesses, and more. We encourage communities throughout the world to join the network.
• Along with several other groups, the UUJME currently serves on the steering committee of AFC.  The AFC network asks ourselves and our communities to take a renewed public pledge against all forms of racism, bigotry, and oppression, including against racist discrimination, islamophobia, antisemitism, and xenophobia in our own communities. We seek to educate ourselves and our communities about the devastation of Palestinian lives under military occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid, and about the connections between settler colonialism, racist oppression, and the cult of security in Palestine/Israel, in North America, and throughout the world.

Inspired by the anti-Apartheid movement that toppled the Apartheid regime in South Africa, BFUU is supporting the development of a new anti-apartheid movement –AFC– and encourages faith communities and all communities of conscience to step away from any and all support to Israeli apartheid, occupation, and settler colonialism. 

• In June of 2024 the Unitarian Universalist Association at its national General Assembly adopted the Action of Immediate Witness, “Solidarity with Palestinians” / , in which the majority of attendees called for Unitarian Universalist congregations:
  • “to be in solidarity with Palestinians by engaging in the following actions based on the guidance of Palestinian and impacted partner organizations, including,
  • to sign, amplify, and carry out the Apartheid-Free Communities/AFC Pledge

Updates:

• On November 10, 2024,the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists/BFUU endorsed becoming a member of this coalition of communities worldwide who pledge to work together to end Israeli apartheid against Palestinians. BFUU named Tom Luce as its representative to the AFC. Write to tomfluce@gmail.com for contact.

About AFC:

The Apartheid-Free international network is a coalition of communities who pledge to work together to end Israeli apartheid. This coalition formed in 2022, following the emerging consensus among the international human rights community that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people amounts to the Crime of Apartheid. Originally created by faith groups in North America joined by the UUJME (Unitarian Universalist for Justice in the MidEast), the network currently includes congregations, faith communities, solidarity organizations, non-profits, campus groups, businesses, and more. Centered in North America, we encourage communities throughout the world to join the network.

The Apartheid-Free network asks ourselves and our communities to take a renewed public pledge against all forms of racism, bigotry, and oppression, including against racist discrimination, islamophobia, antisemitism, and xenophobia in our own communities. We seek to educate ourselves and our communities about the devastation of Palestinian lives under military occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid, and about the connections between settler colonialism, racist oppression, and the cult of security in Palestine/Israel, in North America, and throughout the world.

Inspired by the anti-Apartheid movement that toppled the Apartheid regime in South Africa, we are building a new anti-apartheid movement and encourage faith communities and all communities of conscience to step away from any and all support to Israeli apartheid, occupation, and settler colonialism. 

The Rev. Dr. Allison J. Tanner is a pastor, educator and organizer working for justice and healing in her community as the leader of the Apartheid Free Communities/AFC growing around the world. She is the Stephen McNeil Fellow for AFC  (American Friends Service Committee) from which she organizes the AFC. She is also the Pastor of Public Witness at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California.